Pick-up trucks are used for carrying a load, which must be anchored in position on the bed of the cargo box. Manufacturers, until recently, provided stake holes in the cargo box sidewalls for mounting various anchoring devices that receive a cable attached to the load.
However, such stake holes have been eliminated thereby creating a problem for anchoring a load, such as a motorcycle in an upright position. An undesirable solution is to either form a hole in the cargo box for receiving an anchoring device, or welding an anchoring device to the cargo box. This detracts from the vehicle appearance, and reduces the value of the vehicle.
Examples of prior art anchoring devices that may be connected to a cargo box may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,739 issued Jul. 20, 1993, for "Truck Cap Clamp" to Dale Love; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,521 issued Dec. 17, 1996 for "Vehicle Modular Rail System" to Richard C. Hathaway et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,820 issued Sep. 4, 1990 for "Lamp with Retaining Ring" to Ronald L. Yoder employs a clamp mounted on a wall of a cargo box. The location of the clamp is limited to the location of an opening in the cargo box wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,497 issued Sep. 19, 1989 for "Load Supporting Rack for Attachment to Pick-up Truck Box" to Gilbert Jayne. A pair of brackets locates a lower truss on the top edge of the front panel. The brackets cooperate with a pair of legs for supporting the load.
Merely placing a mounting bracket on the top edge of the cargo box front wall is usually insufficient for maintaining a load without a supplemental means cooperating with the bracket. One reason is that the top edge (rim) of some vehicles is bent from a relatively thin metal. Applying a load on a bracket that straddles the rim of the front wall will bend the wall.
The broad purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved mounting apparatus that can be mounted on the front wall of a cargo box for anchoring a cable or the like, preferably, without drilling supplemental holes into or welding an anchoring device on the cargo box.
The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an elongated tubular four-sided rail that is mounted on the rim of the cargo box front wall. A three-sided channel could also be used, having openings that face the cab.
The manufacturers of certain modern pick-up trucks provide openings along the rim facing the cab. The preferred rail has openings disposed immediately above the openings in the cargo box rim. A clamp is mounted between the cargo box and the cab, adjacent the opening in the rim and the corresponding opening in the rail. Each clamp has an upper horizontal arm that is disposed in the opening of the rail, and a lower arm disposed in the opening in the cargo box. A toe on the lower arm extends toward the upper arm and abuts the inside horizontal surface of the rim. The rail has a vertical opening for inserting a screw into a tapped hole into the upper arm that is aligned with the toe on the lower arm. The rail and the rim are clamped between the toe and the screw. This provides a means for connecting the rail to the cargo box in which the clamp is basically hidden and does not require drilling holes or welding eyes to the cargo box.
A pair of eyes for receiving a clamp is welded to the rail. In addition, a U-shaped channel is mounted on the rail with an eye for receiving a cable hook. The channel straddles the rail and can be adjusted to a selected position along the length of the rail.
In some vehicles, the rim of the cargo box is made of a relatively thin metal, which tends to bend under a load. For these applications, a horizontal wing is welded to each end of the rail. Each wing is seated on a cargo box sidewall, preventing the rail from pivoting around its longitudinal axis, by reinforcing the cargo box front wall. The wings also have anchoring holes for attaching an anchoring cable.
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following detailed description.